Have you ever noticed that the home organization/makeover TV shows always send the children AWAY when they’re doing the cleaning and organizing?
So how does a mom de-clutter, organize, and maintain her home when there are children living in it? And when she has a zillion other things to do?
Join April Perry and her dear friend Marilyn Debry in this podcast that will totally motivate you to get your home clean and clutter free–while involving the children and focusing on the relationships.
The best part about this podcast is that it is a no stress experience. Marilyn shares her ideas in such a relaxed, doable way that you’re sure to come up with your own insights as you hear what a difference this de-cluttering experience has made in her home.
They’ll discuss:
- practical ideas for simplifying life and debunking the myth that “more is better”
- ways to set up time to de-clutter (even if you’re balancing a demanding schedule)
- how to find books and blogs to help you along the way
- how to assign tasks to children of all ages
- specific questions to ask yourself before and during the process, and
- simple ideas to maintain the order (as a whole family) once you’ve gone through all the effort to create it.
Click here to view a PDF summary of the podcast.
Music from Creations by Michael R. Hicks.
For more design ideas like the one pictured above, visit Kelly Donovan’s page at www.houzz.com.
LOVED listening to this podcast! It is SO true about the magazines/t.v.shows all showing home organization MINUS children! Loved how “real life” this discussion was, and best of all encouraging. This encouragement is just what I needed, especially this time of year when the “organization bug” always gets me–it must be that after-Christmas-my-house-is-filled-with-stuff cause and effect!
I loved this! Thank you! It really struck me when you said that you realized you could “live without” lots of things. Whenever we move, I come upon kitchen appliances or things that we haven’t used in months (or years), but I don’t give them away because “we might use it one day.” Which is true–we might. But I am going to change my thinking from now on and ask, “Can we live without this?” (If we haven’t used it in a year, I’d say we can definitely live without it!)
One area where I tend to hoard is my clothing. I have gone up and down in sizes over the past few years, and I keep ALL of my clothes, especially those that are too small for me now because “as soon as I lose ten (or twenty or thirty) pounds, that will fit me again.” I seriously have four different wardrobes for four different sizes. It’s ridiculous! I am giving those skinny clothes away, and if I ever lose the weight, I will celebrate by buying myself a few new nice things.
And finally (sorry this comment is so long), I often have a hard time giving nice things to Goodwill. I think, “This is a really nice shirt–I can’t just give it to Goodwill–I need to find a friend to give it to.” But if I don’t already have a friend in mind, then the shirt continues to sit in my closet. So I’ve started telling myself that someone is going to be THRILLED to find that nice shirt at Goodwill. It is going to make someone’s day. That makes my stuff easier to part with.
I’ve been attempting to minimalize my home for the past couple months and have been so encouraged by the results. I just recently simplified my clothing down to one IKEA wardrobe, and it’s such a good feeling. I love how 10 minutes here or there can have such a dramatic impact over time. When looking around in each room I’m attempting to get to the point that everything in view is either beautiful or functional…and if the two can come together…even better! I enjoy doing crafts, and in the past sometimes the products of my crafts wouldn’t really be that practical (like do I really need another pillow or another scarf?). But now I channel that creativity towards making the functional items that I already use and need in my home more beautiful. As far as the toys go, I’ve found some of the Montessori principles to mesh well with my new minimalist mentality. Toys are rotated and displayed in trays beautifully on shelves. I’ve found that with less toys out…more actually end up getting played with. Thanks for the podcast!
It was fun to listen to my daughter Marilyn talk about her past year’s efforts to simplify their lives by dejunking and organizing their home. We just enjoyed having her and her family spend a week with us in our home after Christmas–and ten extra people in the house for a week (plus visits from other aunts, uncles and cousins) makes me feel like I need to do a bit more work on simplifying things around here. My first goal for the next time we all get together is to hide every toy that makes noise! I didn’t think I had so many. Even the little Bethlehem scene that played “Away in a Manger” was one noise too many after the hundredth time! I love it when the grandkids leave the house mostly clean and orderly when they go back to their home–that means so much to grandmothers! A lot of the housework that used to not be that difficult becomes harder as we get older, so I really appreciate that about Marilyn and her family. Thanks, and come again!
I’m sitting here with a cup of tea in a home which feels like ” there’s a place for everything and …..” 🙂
At the end of 2012 I was feeling the need for some serious clearing out. Something had to give.I wanted to feel free to do things with the children…. Thanks to my very generous and patient husband we’ve been chipping away since early Jan as well as taking care of our four children and fitting in two days if conference. Your post and podcast, April, were very inspiring. I’m a bit nervous about settling back into normal life but happy to have a nicer stage for it!
Marilyn, I loved the podcast! You are truly inspiring to me in so many ways – and I admire you for sharing your story and encouragement with all of us. This topic is dear to my heart, as I’m been trying to get a handle on our overstuffed home. Knowing you successfully tackled a project like this with your kids, makes me believe I can do it too. I also appreciated the posts listed here, hearing how others are putting these ideas into practice. The point that was made about all this stuff in our homes getting in the way of focusing on relationships really hit home with me. If I downsize the kids’ toys by half, I can spend more time playing with them and having quality time (which is what really matters), instead of picking up the house – and they won’t even miss that stuff. I was interested to learn about the minimalist info you read up on and I’m planning to do some research. Thank you!
What a great conversation… and so inspiring. I can’t wait to tackle a closet or cupboard this weekend! Maybe both 🙂
One method I use when decluttering is to ask myself, “If my child completely ruined this item,” (because they are the primary source of ruin in our home, LOL!) “would I be sad because it was special to me? Or would I feel frustrated because I would need to replace it? Or would it not matter?” There are so many things that just would not matter!
Another thing I remember is a post I saw on a minimalist blog in which the author talked about that part in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the grandmother pulls out the little box of her most treasured items. The author said, something like, “How different would this scene have been if she had taken her granddaughter by the hand and led her to a storage unit packed with all of her most important treasures?” The mental image made me laugh and reminded me that LESS is MORE! 🙂
Thanks for all of this awesomeness, ladies. Just love POM. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing here! That question you ask yourself is PERFECT. (I need to remember that one!) I also love the thought of the “little box of treasures.” That is exactly what I want…not the huge storage unit. Thanks so much for being part of Power of Moms. We are always looking for ways to improve, so if you can think of anything we can do for you, please email us!!